Missouri lawmaker tried to restrict public info on police shootings earlier this year

NOTHING TO SEE HERE: One Missouri lawmaker thinks cops should be protected from the public’s right to know.

By Eric Boehm | Watchdog.org

Much of the nation’s attention has been turned on the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., this week as civilian protesters and police officers have clashed in a hail of flash-bang grenades, tear gas and riot gear.

But if state Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, had his way, that would not be the case.

Roorda introduced a bill last year to amend the state’s Sunshine Law to prevent the public from obtaining “any records and documents pertaining to police shootings … if they contain the name of any officer who did the shooting.”

Peters notes the law would essentially give all police officers the privilege of discharging their weapons in public at any time without leaving any public fingerprints.

That post now seems eerily prescient, particularly in Missouri.

Roorda’s serious about this whole police-should-be-allowed-to-do-whatever-they-want thing, too. He recently told the Post-Dispatch that he, and the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association, oppose the use of cameras in patrol cars to monitor police activity.

Eric Boehm is the national regulatory reporter for Watchdog.org. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. His work has appeared in Reason Magazine, National Review Online, The Freeman Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Examiner and Fox News. He was once featured in a BuzzFeed listicle. Follow him on Twitter @EricBoehm87 and reach him at [email protected]